Vows and Bullets
Chapter 66: Can I Kiss You?

Chapter 66: Can I Kiss You?

Wow. He looks really handsome when he smiles like that—not his usual evil or fake smile.

As my eyes unconsciously stared at his handsome visage, I felt his thumb brush against my lips.

’Hm? Why is he... Don’t tell me he wants to—?’

"My dear wife, can I kiss you?" he asked.

My eyes widened at the ridiculousness of his question.

’Ah! I knew it! This pervert, kissing maniac, evil fox! We’re alone, and this kind of kiss is p-private! Why is he suddenly asking that? Is he lusting right now? And why does he keep calling me "dear wife" even in private?’

"They say habits form when you consistently do something for 21 days," he added. "I guess that’s true. We’ve been kissing daily for the past month and a few weeks for a publicity stunt—that’s way beyond 21 days. No wonder I..."

"No wonder w-what?"

"I’m craving for your lips."

’What the—What did he just say?!’

I felt my cheeks burn from what he said.

’C-Crave my ass! H-Habit my ass! Y-You’re just a lustful guy! A true pervert among perverts! Why didn’t I form that habit when I was also involved? I sure don’t feel like kissing...’

But when I glanced at his lips, for some reason, I felt tempted by the idea.

’What the heck?! So that 21 days habit is true?’

I laughed awkwardly at his suggestion and averted my eyes from him, who was looking at me as if he wanted to eat me.

"W-What are you saying? There’s no such thing."

He then inched closer and leaned down to me until our faces were just a breath apart. I tried to step back, but he caught me by my waist and held me close.

"Then what is this I’m feeling?"

’This guy surely is trying to tempt me. Now I feel like how I felt when the karts were in front of me, but I can’t drive them. Ugh! The urge!’

I didn’t fall for his tricks though. I’m not a pervert like him. Hmp!

"L-Lust! That’s what it is," I snapped at him.

"Ha-ha. Maybe it is," he laughed. "But we made a deal. I can kiss you when I want, and in return, you can kiss me anytime you want."

"I didn’t agree to that! You decided it on your own!"

"That’s why I’m asking permission now. Can’t I get a kiss from my wife?" he pouted and acted cutely.

That’s not going to work on me!

"Hey! Just in case you’re forgetting, we’re not real husband and wife. This is a facade," I whispered carefully, in case anyone might hear us.

"We’re still legally wedded, so you have the duty of kissing me and sharing my bed."

"Oh, you want to go the legal way now, huh?"

Little by little, my patience ran out.

"No. That’s why I’m asking."

"And I said no."

He pouted again. Seeing him like that, I somehow felt like I’m the bad guy. It’s not like we haven’t kissed privately before—doing it again wouldn’t make a difference. But what if "that" happens again? Besides, he still couldn’t control himself once he got started.

With a heavy sigh, he pulled away from me.

"... Alright. I guess it’s a no today."

Then he went to bed and laid down, still sulking like a kid. I also followed and slept beside him. Right. He should be thankful I’m letting him sleep beside me—just because the servants might find it weird that we’re sleeping separately, and even with them, we still need to keep our acts. We never know who might be spying on us or something like that.

’Wait a minute... Didn’t he say earlier that the people here are his people? Then that means I don’t need to sleep with him tonight!’

I just got down on the bed, but I got up and searched around, looking for where else I could sleep. The couch looked big enough. I’m still not used to sleeping in the same bed as him. Whenever I sleep with him, I always end up hugging him because I’m used to hugging a pillow in my sleep. Ugh.

And so, I got off the bed to head toward the couch, but then Eun-Woo saw me and pulled me towards him.

"Where are you going?"

"I’m going to sleep on the couch. The servants here are your people, right?"

He squinted his eyes, unamused by what I said.

"You didn’t allow me to kiss you, and now you don’t want to sleep with me either? Is this what I get from being kind and acting nice towards you?"

"Huh? No. It’s not that. I mean, you said they were your people, so there’s no need to act in front of them, right?"

He glared at me as if I said something wrong.

"Hey. Why are you getting mad?"

"If I don’t get a kiss and you leave me alone here, I won’t act nicely to you anymore. You don’t seem to like it."

"What? That’s not true. I do like it when you’re nice, it’s good! But—"

He turned to his back and pulled the blanket over his shoulder, obviously sulking.

’Ugh. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants, huh? Why in the world did my partner suddenly become childish? He’s basically throwing a tantrum at me! He doesn’t get my point, does he? Or is he trying to manipulate me to do his bidding? This sly fox!’

"Haaaah..."

I sighed deeply and contemplated for a moment. Let’s try to think from his perspective. That’s the first step to be done to resolve a conflict, right? Put yourself in the other person’s shoes, think in his/her perspective, and analyze how he/she would feel, think, or do in his/her situation. Then, communicate and try to meet halfway.

’Hmm... Come to think of it, it is a little unfair to get cold treatment after he became nice to me. When he wasn’t, he just did anything he wanted, and he got what he wanted. It should be the other way around. Right. Like how you train dogs—the carrot and stick strategy. So I should make it so that he gets a reward for doing something good and a punishment for not. But I’m doing the opposite, so of course, he would sulk.’

Ugh. Dealing with him was really like trying to tame a pet—a sly fox, evil dragon incarnate kind of pet—or a kid, or I don’t know.

"Haaah... Fine. I’ll sleep here, and you get a kiss. Come here."

Alas, I caved in.